West African Vegetable and Peanut Stew

It's snowing in Nashville right now. Really snowing. My classes were cancelled, and we're allegedly expecting 6-10" before this is all over. It's the perfect day to hibernate with some of this stew that I made last night. Truthfully, this is much more my kind of stew than a heavy beef version. The curry peanut flavor together with the lime and cilantro takes me somewhere warmer, and all of the vegetables fill me up with all kinds of health benefits. This does take some time to come together, but it makes quite a bit more than the 4-5 servings the recipe stated, so you can eat it for days. Judging by the weather, that might be a good thing at this point!

West African Vegetable and Peanut Stew
source: Food and Wine via The Tennessean

Ingredients
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
3 large garlic cloves, minced
2 jalapeños, seeded and finely chopped
1 Tbsp finely chopped fresh ginger
1 1/2 Tbsp curry powder
1 14-oz can diced tomatoes, with their liquid
4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
2 tsp salt
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 pound sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
2 carrots, cut into 1/2-inch dice
2 cups frozen cut okra
1 cup frozen green beans or 1/4 pound fresh green beans, cut into 2-inch lengths
1/4 cup cilantro leaves (optional)
1/4 cup chopped salted peanuts (optional)
Lime wedges, for serving (optional)

Preparation
Heat the oil in a large pot. Add the onion, garlic, jalapeños and ginger and cook over moderate heat, stirring frequently, until the onion is lightly browned, about 6 minutes. Add the curry powder and cook, stirring, until fragrant and lightly toasted, about 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes, scraping up any bits stuck to the bottom of the pot. Whisk in the broth and peanut butter, season with salt and pepper, and bring to a boil. Cook over moderately high heat for 15 minutes, stirring frequently.

Add the sweet potatoes and carrots, cover partially and cook over moderately low heat until the vegetables are just tender, about 20 minutes. Add the okra and green beans, cover partially and cook until all the vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes longer. Transfer the stew to bowls and serve hot. Pass the cilantro, peanuts and lime wedges at the table.